The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1887-03-31

even that. ], you knous IN made Of the
inferior olay-you % - pure porcelain.
Do you not remsmbefsl sliow even GOOD.
kind Aunt Hester told you there were
no young ladies with -, only the seam
stress. You are slighEly bored already.
and think me odd enough to amuse Won
for while; bat if some Of these gay la
dies-among whom hear you are such
favorite were to come here, you would
not even know me. Good evening, sir"
"What furious little radical" :" thought
Sol, with an uneasy laugh, - he watched
her retreating 6gure After all. he was
not quite sure that she had not spoken
the truth.
If the calico frock had been q fiounced
silk, for instance, how macy degrees more
deferential would have been his manner
in presenting the chesriesi
Query the second =.
If the calico frocl had xbeen walking
down Broadway about 4 O'Clock in the
afternoon, would he, Solomon Griges. of
Griggs, Makem & Co., as willingly escort
it as across those green fields where. if
the robins and bluebirds did make re-
marks, it was in their own language?
Sol couldn't answer the questions sat-
isfactorily, but he went to bed and
dreamed all night of the little Diogenes
in her calico frock.
That week and the next week he waited
patiently for the first glimpse of that re-
markable garment coming around the
corner, but in vain. And when, in such
very careless manner that it was quite
remarkable, he wondered audibly where
that odd little girl lived whom he saw on
the eve of his arrival" Aunt Hester an
swered dryly:" Away up-thereabouts,"
pointing with her hand. She boarded,
she believed, with some queer sort of
folks there; though, for that matter, she
was queer enough herself And this
was absolutely all she would say on the
subject.
The next day Sol took it upon himself
to wander up that way, thereabouts,"
and was rewarded with glimpse of the
calico frock going through broken gate !;
and, following it closely, came up with
the wearer as she was about to enter the
dilapidated front door, at which piece of
impertinence she was so much inceused as
to turn very red, while tears actually
started to her eyes.
"What do you want!'' she asked,
sharply enough.
"To see you!' replied Sol, who taken
by surprise, could think of nothing but
the truth.
Well you have seen me-now go?"
"But it's warm day, and am very
tired!
81 can't help that. It's not my fault
is it?"
"You might ask me to walk in and
sit down, if You were not as hard-hearted
as a Huron!"
"This is not my house."
You would then, if it were?
81 don't say that"
"Well then I'm thirsty-give me q
glass of water"
"This is the well, and an Iron cup
fastened to it by q chain, help your
self''
"You inhospitable little misan-
thrope!-"
But she was gone; and the next time
he inquired for her, Aunt Hester told
him with a malicious twinkle of the eye,
that she was gone to the city.
Perhaps the good soul had been
troubled with visions of a future Mrs.
Griggs, and was not altogether displeased
that an insurmountable barrier was
placed between "that odd Rachel Hart
and her nephew Sol, who was good
boy, but didn't know the ways of
women"
Be that as it may, her joy was shortly
turned into the mourning, for Solomon
received dispatches requiring his immedi-
ate presence in the city. At least so he
said, for Aunt Hester was immovable in
her conviction that "that Rachel was
somehow at the bottom of it." She even
limited as much to Solomon when he bade
her goodbye but he only laughed, and
told her to take care of herself.
After all, business could not have been
so very pressing, as he spent the greater
portion of his time wandering through
lanes and back streets, not unfrequently
dashing down alleys with the inexplica-
BILE exclamation of "That's her?" from
whence he always returned very red in
the face and sheepish in expression.
Three months had passed away, when
he nearly ran against little woman, who
looked up in bis face with q sardonic
smile.
"Your eyesight is not so good in the
city, Mr.. Griggs You don't know me
here"
Rachel Miss Hart, l have been
looking for you everywhere. IL
where do you live ?"
She hesitated a moment then said short
ly: Come and see." And turning, led
the way through narrow streets, reeking
with filth and teeming with wretched
population, up fight of broken stairs,
into dingy little room, whose only
redeeming feature was its perfect cleanli-
ness
"Will you be seated, Mr.. Griggs?" she
asked with a scornful smile. "Now that
You know my residence, trust that l
may have the pleasure of seeing you fire.
quently."
"And you live in this den," asked Sol
omon, needless of her sarcasm. How
do you support yourself?"
"By my needle"
"And how much does it take to keep
up this magnificent style of living ?"
"By unremitting exertion l can earn
two dollars week"
"Great heavens why didn't you come
to me ?"
"For two excellent reasons First, /
should not have known where to have
focnd von t.. aocon1 I ahould not have